Diagnosis of Mesothelioma - Mesothelioma Treatments
Diagnosis of Mesothelioma and Mesothelioma Treatments
The diagnosis of mesothelioma typically begins with a patient's visit to the doctor with complaints of chronic chest pain. The most common type of malignant mesothelioma is pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the mesothelial tissue lining of the lung cavity (pleura). The most common presenting symptom of pleural mesothelioma is pleural effusion, a buildup of fluid inside the pleural space. Pleural effusion is typically the source of the chronic chest pain that prompts a mesothelioma victim's visit to the doctor.
In order to get a definitive diagnosis of mesothelioma, a type of diagnostic surgery called a biopsy is required. A biopsy is a type of minor surgery that involves the removal of suspect tissue for examination by a histopathologist (expert in the study of diseased tissue). A histopathologist readies the sectioned tissue for microscopic viewing through a process called embedding. Histopathological study of the tissue allows the disease to be verified, typed and staged; information that can be helpful when deciding upon a type of mesothelioma treatment.
Mesothelioma Treatments
Mesothelioma patients can choose from a number of mesothelioma treatments; however, none have proven effective in containing the fatally incurable cancer. Traditional treatment options are the same as those offered to other cancer patients and include:
- Surgery: physical removal of cancerous tissue.
- Chemotherapy: chemical treatment of malignancy through the use of anticancer drugs.
- Radiation therapy (radiotherapy): the use of high energy radiation waves to destroy cancer cells.
Traditional mesothelioma treatments are often used in conjunction with one-another. Tri-modal therapy is a type of treatment through which a case of mesothelioma is treated with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This aggressive strategy is somewhat controversial because of the physical strain it puts on mesothelioma patients; however, it is viewed to be capable of increasing victims' survival time.
New mesothelioma treatments have been development with the hope of succeeding where traditional methods of treatment have failed; thus far, they have been unsuccessful. New mesothelioma treatment options include:
- Development of new chemotherapy drugs.
- Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT): the use of highly targeted radiation waves to destroy cancer cells.
- Photodynamic therapy (PDT): the use of lasers or light in conjunction with light-activated drugs to target and destroy cancer cells.
- Gene therapy: the treatment of disease at the genetic level. Gene replacement therapy can replace a defective, cancer-causing gene with a normal one.
- Immunotherapy: the treatment of disease through enhancement of the body's immune system.
Malignant Mesothelioma Facts
There are three types of malignant mesothelioma, each one affecting a different section of the mesothelium:
- Pleural mesothelioma affects the pleura and accounts for an approximate 75% of all documented cases.
- Peritoneal mesothelioma affects the peritoneum (abdominal cavity) and accounts for an approximate 10% to 20% of all documented cases.
- Pericardial mesothelioma affects the pericardium (heart sac) and accounts for less than 10% of all documented cases.
The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos exposure. Although asbestos was regulated under section 112 of the Clean Air Act in 1970, there are 2,000 to 3,000 new cases of malignant mesothelioma reported each year in the United States alone. This can be attributed to the fact that malignant mesothelioma is a latent disease that can take anywhere from 30- to 40-years to fully develop and present symptoms. The disease is believed to be responsible for an estimated 200,000 deaths worldwide.